Funeral in Berlin

Apart from being an excellent Cold War era film, from an excellent book by Len Deighton, this film allows interesting and historic scenery in Berlin and East Berlin shots which are illustrative of the time. Many of these older films have so many location shots that now the locations are so expensive they couldn't afford to shoot. As usual with British spy fiction, the disaffection is rampant - you never know who is really on your side and who is a double agent. Of course this was the case in real life for British Intelligence for many years. Michael Caine does his Harry Palmer flawlessly as usual. Probably my favorite actor, Caine always gives superlative performances no matter how awful the script he had to work with over the years, and luckily this film had a good script! I have a collection of Michael Caine films and watch them now and then no matter how many times I have seen them. Harry Palmer is much more real as a British agent than Bond ever was and the two genres are very different. Harry Palmer has fund issues, ratty surrounds and a cynical attitude which is encouraged by the manipulations of his friends and enemies both. On this film, one of my favorite characters is the KGB head stationed in East Berlin. Read the books. See the films.

I was 12 years old when "Funeral In Berlin" came out in 1966, and the sponsors of our class at school thought it a good idea to take a busload of us to see it at a nearby movie theater. I am not certain how much of the plot I actually absorbed--really, it's so convoluted I'd be surprised if all the adults in our group followed it--but I don't remember disliking it, either. With that in mind, I ordered the blu-ray from amazon. Not having seen the film in 50+ years, I wondered if I'd like it or be bored out of my mind; I'd recently purchased the Ken Russell-directed sequel, "Billion Dollar Brain" and found it entertaining enough, although I've never found anything directed by Ken Russell to be boring. In "Funeral In Berlin", Guy Hamilton, whose directing credits include several 007 films, as well as a couple of Agatha Christie's, does a competent job bringing Len Deighton's novel to the screen, even though I still lose the plot halfway through: the various threads of the story diverge in such ways that even the most observant viewer might find taxing.Michael Caine, reprising his role from "The Ipcress Files" (which I have not seen), plays the cooly unwilling Harry Palmer, a sort of bargain basement James Bond. Without the gadgetry, the glamour or the loyal support of an M in the British Secret Service, Harry avoids jail time by playing spy vs. spy for his government and is often left to his own devices when his neck is on the line. Michael Caine's performance as Harry Palmer may just be my favorite in the actor's entire acting resume. He may lack the Savile Row suits and suave charm of Bond, but Harry feels fresher, more real (or whatever passes for real in a 60's-era spy movie); he's a bit schleppy and has off-kilter good looks, which only adds to his funny, oddly endearing persona. He's also very clever. Would Bond fare half as well if he had to think on his feet and improvise his escapades without the help of machinery?"Funeral In Berlin" finds Harry being sent to West Berlin to allegedly assist in the defection from East Berlin of a Russian general, wonderfully played by the menacingly droll Oscar Homolka. Naturally, things aren't quite what they seem. In fact, not all the characters are quite what they seem to be. There are double-crosses and triple-crosses (I think), and along the way, we meet some shady characters, none the least of whom are Palmer's co-workers and fellow agents. The beautiful Eva Renzi makes a satisfying film debut as a femme fatale whose designs on Harry may be more calculated than not, and Guy Doleman turns up in a welcome return as Harry's irascible boss at the spy agency. Really, in "Funeral In Berlin", the performances are everything, and I thoroughly enjoyed the interactions between Harry and this motley crew of characters.Filmed largely on location in Berlin, the movie provides a fascinating time capsule of the divided city, highlighting bombed-out buildings (relics of WW2), and Soviet bloc architecture which enforces a feel of cold, grimy conformity.If I have any complaints about the blu-ray disc, it's that it's a little murky in some scenes, and could use a thorough restoration. Still, it's a minor gripe and I'm satisfied with my purchase.

One of the neat things about the movie is that all the major 1966 places are mentioned and in the right place. You feel that you are there. I always wanted to see several things from the 60s in the east and west. Now it is too late for many places and things. I almost got to see it as I planned an R&R thee but plans changed at the last minute.No one is who or what he seems on either side and a few with agendas of their own; this adds to the confusion or convolution of the movie.Harry alias Edmund Dorf is sent to Berlin to arrange passage for a Russian defector Harry know there is something funny but has no idea what it is. Will he find out too late? And will he ever get his 800£ loan to buy a car?

Len Deighton’s spy thrillers are the best read. He introduces us to Harry Palmer who is very sk8lledcat his job. This film has stayed remarkably close to the book. And, we have Michael Caine as Harry Palmer.Harry is called by his boss, Ross to go to Berlin and oversee the defection of a Col. Stok. Stok insustsvthat a man named Kreutzman plan the escape, and so it goes. A funeral hearse is arranged 5o bring Stok to the West. However, nothing goes as planned, tables are turned, twists are made, and things go awry and back again.There is also a lovely lady named Evecwith plans of her own. She is looking for former Nazis. Again, not much is as it seems or should be. Exect surprises around every corner. Berlin in the 1960’s is everything you might think it would be. Fantastic filming, acting, script and mood altering music. What could be better?Recommended. prisrob 11-26-18

Funeral in Berlin is an enjoyable period piece with great shots of Soviet-dominated East Berlin. I did find the plot a bit confusing. This is no Le Carre but worth watching. Michael Caine is excellent but I could have done without the tiresome cliche of pretty girls, pointless as characters.I am surprised at the ignorance about the Cold War shown in some reviews here. Yes, it was real and the world hung in the balance. No, it didn't begin in the 60s. Google Churchill's brilliant Iron Curtain speech from 1946, less than a year after WW2 ended is generally accepted as the beginning of the Cold War tho in fact it was underway even before WW2 ended.

In many ways, this film is even better than its predecessor, 'The IPCRESS File'. The photography is less arty and more open, the characters are more human and less 'spy', and the general feel of the film is less claustrophobic. Evan Jones' script is sharp and witty, remaining true to Len Deighton's original novel, albeit with a few shortcuts. Eva Renzi makes a first-class foil for Michael Caine's Harry Palmer, and the host of stalwart supporting actors make it a great production all round. The only thing missing is a decent score. One can see the point of the Germanic 'Umpah' brass band music, emphasising that country's recent militaristic past, but once would have been enough. Something like John Barry's chilling motif for 'IPCRESS' would have been the finishing touch that is sadly lacking from this production. Music is one of the most important factors in a film's success. If it's right, you hardly notice it, but if it's wrong it knocks the bottom out of the entire production.

Although `Funeral in Berlin' features Michael Caine once again as `spy' Harry Palmer, you do not need to have seen the previous year's `The Ipcress File' to appreciate the plot of this second film. Featuring again some of the leading players of the James Bond production team (producer Harry Saltzman, production designer Ken Adam, director Guy Hamilton - even the music by Konrad Elfers has more than a sense of John Barry), `Funeral in Berlin' has a distinctively different feel.It is more intellectual than Bond for a start, more dour, but no less exciting. There is more intrigue too, less black and white characterisation, as we are continuously challenged to see on whose side are some of the main players. Does the Russian general really want to defect? For which intelligence service does Eva Renzi really work? And is the man Bloom friend or foe? I suppose you could say `Funeral in Berlin' falls squarely between the glamour of Bond and the monochrome intensity of `The Spy Who Came in from the Cold', another British spy film of similar vintage (starring Richard Burton) that focused on East Germany but which was filmed in, of all places, Ireland.`Funeral in Berlin' is also a propaganda piece, made at the height of the Cold War, only a few years after the erection of the Berlin Wall. Thus we are told that there is little milk for tea in the East, where all we see are ruined buildings and empty streets. But despite the propaganda there are, nevertheless, some excellently-framed shots and some good set-ups, such as at what looks like the Glienicke Bridge at Potsdam and Checkpoint Charlie in the centre of Berlin. The scenes are made all the more real by the employment of good German actors in supporting roles.Caine is an excellent Harry Palmer, continuing the spy's insubordinate relationship with his employer, British Intelligence. (The Chief of Police in Berlin remarks to Palmer's face how he (Palmer) is "so crooked they had to put you in intelligence.") But, unlike Bond, Palmer won't kill his adversary, even turning down a long-cherished loan from MI6 to buy a new car rather than kill in cold blood his opponent.Alas, there are no extras on my DVD.

Caine as Harry Palmer is landed in the sh** again by his boss, Guy Doleman. This time he has to extricate a defecting Russian general, (Oscar Homolka) in overtones of the comedy 'The Wrong Box'. If Palmer gets it wrong something - or someone - will drop on him from a great height. Eva Renzi's introduced as the female interest this time. Lots of views of Berlin in its post-Wall dingy glory (no doubt some filmed in a Pinewood studio with scenic backdrops).

"My name is Harry Palmer" and Mr Caine is indeed he! Second in the Harry Palmer films, not quite as good as the Ipcress File and wayyy better than Billion Dollar Brain (which I thought was a bit of a farce to be honest). Lots of Berlin background, the Wall, east-West tensions, cold war intrigue. Great for wet Saturdays!

I saw part of it on TV so I thought I would love a dvd of the hill to keepThe picture quality is not good, but it seems to go well with the atmosphere in a seedy post ww2 BerlinSome real German actors gave the film an air of authenticityI bet it would be really good in a digitally remastered version